Divisional all-stars: are the 15-3 Stampeders underrepresented with just seven players?

The Calgary Stampeders were far and away the CFL's most dominant team this year, putting up a 15-3 record (12-6 Edmonton and 10-8 Saskatchewan were the only other teams to finish above .500), and they're strong favourites to win the 102nd Grey Cup. However, they're not getting a lot of love in the divisional all-star selections (chosen by votes of head coaches and voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada), which were announced Wednesday. Calgary wound up with seven all-star selections, behind 9-9 Montreal (11), 9-9 Hamilton (10), and Edmonton (nine). That's less controversial than Grey Cup-runner up Hamilton winding up without a single league all-star last year, but it's still remarkably low for such a dominant team. What's the reasoning for that, and is it reasonable, or should more Stampeders have been picked?

Calgary has had a substantial amount of injuries this year, which has led to a rather revolving lineup at many positions, and that probably contributed to the Stampeders' lack of representation here. The seven Stamps' players who were picked (RB Jon Cornish, OT Stanley Bryant, C Brett Jones, DBs Brandon Smith, Fred Bennett and Jamar Wall and P Rob Maver) all are very deserving. However, there are plenty of spots where a Calgary player could have gotten the nod, but didn't. Consider the offensive line, where the Stampeders not only allowed the league's lowest sack total (26, five ahead of nearest competitor Montreal and 20 ahead of nearest West competitor Edmonton), but also paved the way for Cornish (who was deservedly chosen as an all-star) to win the league's rushing title despite missing much of the season with various injuries. Two members of that line, Jones and Bryant, were picked as all-stars, and rightfully so. What about the other three, though?

The most common other Calgary starters on the line were Spencer Wilson (17 games, 14 starts at right guard), Shane Bergman (14 starts at left guard) and Dan Federkeil (13 starts at right tackle), and all were outstanding. Given his injuries, Federkeil probably would have a tough time getting picked against B.C.'s Jovan Olafioye (the CFL's top lineman in 2012, and someone who shone again this year), but it's interesting that Wilson and Bergman didn't receive more consideration. The picks were Edmonton's Simeon Rottier (who did a remarkable job of improving from publicly-blasted target to his team's top lineman, but still played on a line that gave up 20 more sacks than Calgary's) and Saskatchewan's Brendon LaBatte (the league's top lineman last year, but his play didn't seem as dominant this season, which was part of Saskatchewan allowing 49 sacks; he also missed several games thanks to injury).

Another question is the quarterback selection. The pick was Edmonton's Mike Reilly, but Stampeders' quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw for more yards (3,389 to 3,327) with a much better touchdown-to-interception ratio (22:8 versus 16:11) and passer rating (98.3, best in the league amongst everyone with 50 attempts or more, against 88.7). It's not just about yardage, as B.C.'s Kevin Glenn and Winnipeg's Drew Willy both threw for more yards than both, but their touchdown-to-interception ratios were problematic (17:17 and 14:16 respectively). There is a case for Reilly, who accomplished a lot on the ground (he ran for 616 yards and eight touchdowns, versus Mitchell's 232 and four; Mitchell had 10 potential rushing touchdowns vultured away by the Stampeders' usage of Drew Tate close to the goal-line, though, while Reilly only lost four to Pat White). However, Mitchell should have received strong consideration at the least, and there's a good argument he was better than Reilly overall this year.

On the whole, though, the selections aren't all that unreasonable. The higher number of picks Montreal got was thanks to a weakened East (where Ottawa didn't receive a single all-star nod, probably justifiably, and Toronto's defence struggled for much fo the year), and while Edmonton received more nods in the West, that's partly a reflection of a team with a few really outstanding players (such as Adarius Bowman and Dexter McCoil), but possibly less overall depth. Moreover, some of Calgary's star players (such as leading receiver Marquay McDaniel) missed a ton of time with injuries, denying them the stats they probably needed to get picked. There certainly is a case for the Stampeders to have more players on this list, especially given how dominant they were this year, but the selections here aren't a travesty.